Construction of the roller compacted concrete dam on the Yeywa project in Myanmar is nearing completion, and the country is planning further expansion of its hydro power development programme.

The 134m high dam is almost 98% completed, and overall the construction of the 790MW scheme is just over two-thirds finished. Work on the RCC dam started in February 2006 and the Chinese concrete placement contractor, Gezhouba Water and Power, has been praised by many in industry for its productivity.

The Ministry of Electric Power No 1 added that construction of the powerhouse is more than three-quarters complete, the intake is 71% built and the spillway is approaching 30% finished.

Yeywa has a budget of US$600M - two-thirds by the Government and the balance by a loan from China, the Ministry said. The plant is expected to generate 3550GWh per year of electricity.

The Ministry is reported to be planning 15 more hydro power projects, with combined installed capacity of 13.85GW, in addition to the 22 schemes (16.6GW) under construction.

Six hydro power plants with combined capacity of 442MW have been completed recently - Zawgyi-2, Zaungtu, Thaphanseik, Monechaung, Paunglaung and Yenwe.